Klonor
01-05-2005, 10:40
In The Butterfly Effect, a movie starring Ashton Kutcher, Evan Treborn is a man who, since his early childhood, has been suffering from mysterious and unexplained blackouts which seem to only occur before, during, and after pivotal points in his life. They continue well into his teens and it is only when he has reached college that any substantial period of time has passed since his last lapse (Seven years, to be specific). Well, in an attempt to understand what causes the blackouts and hopefully to help him remember, he started writing a journal describing everything that happened before and after his blackouts. They didn't seem to help, neither did the many doctors his mother took him to, but he kept up with them any way and by the time the blackouts stopped he had a small libraries worth of records. When it began to seem like that blackouts had finally stopped he put the journals away and moved on with his life (Well, not entirely, it seems that at college his studies did center on the brain and memory and stuff like that).
Well, one night at college he took out one of the journals and began reading what he'd written. Suddenly, he found himself back in time and within his body several years ago, living out the time during the blackouts. The first several times it happened he didn't do much but look around and go "What the hell? Where am I? What's going on?" but eventually he realised that he was throwing himself back in time and that he could interact with society at that age. Slowly, he began to experiment and attemtped to fix several things that had gone wrong with his life and the lives of his childhood friends. Several times it seemed that he'd succeeded, making everybodies life better, but there was always some downside to the bliss that he'd created.
The closest he came to making it perfect was when he'd gone back to one of the more disturbing points in his childhood. He was over at his best friends house (several years later she'd become his first crush and childhood love interest) when both he and her were molested by her father (As I said, this was a disturbing point in childhood). The blackout started just before the molestation started and ended just before it did, so when he went back in time he was able to stop it from happening. He told her to cover her ears, then proceeded to talk to her father. Now, he might have been in his pre-teen body, but he had his college-age mind and out came many adult type swear words, such names as "The Police", and many many threats of judicial action. He tells her father to never even think of touching her again, and that he should discipline his son because 'he is one sadistic bastard' (This harks to a different blackout where the son, his best friends brother, is angry at Evan for dating his sister and burns Evans dog alive). You could tell the father was severely disturbed and its obvious that she's gonna be safe. Evan snaps back to the present to find himself leading the good life, engaged to that same childhood love (Whereas in the former life she'd become a suicide), and set towards years of bliss. Until the brother shows up again. The brother was disturbed before, now he's even more so since it seems that his father had beaten him horribly when he was growing up. It's easy to see that this is because Evan told his father to discipline his son. Bad things happen, Evan ends up in jail with the brother dead, and he tries all over again to make life good.
Now, in that particular life everything was going well for everybody except the brother since he'd lead a childhood I can't even imagine. When Evan goes back in time again after this failed experiment he keeps trying new things to make everything good, but never tries that same tactic again. This is what I don't get. I don't get why he didn't go back in time to that same point, again threaten the dad with horrible punishment if he touched his daughter again, and then (instead of telling him to discipline his son) tell him that he is to shower both his children with love, kindness, and blessings for their rest of their lives. I really don't get why he didn't try that. It would make everything better. Evan and his love aren't molested and disturbed, the son isn't beaten horribly and grows up as a well-adjusted human being, and Lenny doesn't end up in a mental institution (Lenny's problems all stemmed from the sons problems).
Apart from the fact that it would end the movie a lot earlier and cut out a lot of the drama, does anybody have any idea why Evan didn't try that?
Well, one night at college he took out one of the journals and began reading what he'd written. Suddenly, he found himself back in time and within his body several years ago, living out the time during the blackouts. The first several times it happened he didn't do much but look around and go "What the hell? Where am I? What's going on?" but eventually he realised that he was throwing himself back in time and that he could interact with society at that age. Slowly, he began to experiment and attemtped to fix several things that had gone wrong with his life and the lives of his childhood friends. Several times it seemed that he'd succeeded, making everybodies life better, but there was always some downside to the bliss that he'd created.
The closest he came to making it perfect was when he'd gone back to one of the more disturbing points in his childhood. He was over at his best friends house (several years later she'd become his first crush and childhood love interest) when both he and her were molested by her father (As I said, this was a disturbing point in childhood). The blackout started just before the molestation started and ended just before it did, so when he went back in time he was able to stop it from happening. He told her to cover her ears, then proceeded to talk to her father. Now, he might have been in his pre-teen body, but he had his college-age mind and out came many adult type swear words, such names as "The Police", and many many threats of judicial action. He tells her father to never even think of touching her again, and that he should discipline his son because 'he is one sadistic bastard' (This harks to a different blackout where the son, his best friends brother, is angry at Evan for dating his sister and burns Evans dog alive). You could tell the father was severely disturbed and its obvious that she's gonna be safe. Evan snaps back to the present to find himself leading the good life, engaged to that same childhood love (Whereas in the former life she'd become a suicide), and set towards years of bliss. Until the brother shows up again. The brother was disturbed before, now he's even more so since it seems that his father had beaten him horribly when he was growing up. It's easy to see that this is because Evan told his father to discipline his son. Bad things happen, Evan ends up in jail with the brother dead, and he tries all over again to make life good.
Now, in that particular life everything was going well for everybody except the brother since he'd lead a childhood I can't even imagine. When Evan goes back in time again after this failed experiment he keeps trying new things to make everything good, but never tries that same tactic again. This is what I don't get. I don't get why he didn't go back in time to that same point, again threaten the dad with horrible punishment if he touched his daughter again, and then (instead of telling him to discipline his son) tell him that he is to shower both his children with love, kindness, and blessings for their rest of their lives. I really don't get why he didn't try that. It would make everything better. Evan and his love aren't molested and disturbed, the son isn't beaten horribly and grows up as a well-adjusted human being, and Lenny doesn't end up in a mental institution (Lenny's problems all stemmed from the sons problems).
Apart from the fact that it would end the movie a lot earlier and cut out a lot of the drama, does anybody have any idea why Evan didn't try that?